Akala Garrett and Antwan Hughes Shine At NCHSAA State Championships
* Akala Garrett recaps on her emotional final state championship at the JDL Fast Track
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At her final North Carolina Indoor State Championships, Akala Garrett capped it off as the MVP on Saturday.
The Texas recruit broke 1A/2A state championship meet records in the 55mH (7.86) and 500m (1:15.86). She also won the 300m title in 40.44 and was third in the 55m with a 7.21, which is the first time she's ever competed in this event at the state championships.
With Garrett's contribution, she led Albemarle (NC) to a fourth-place team finish with 36 points. Throughout her indoor high school career, Garrett has accumulated five state titles amongst the hurdles and sprints.
* Antwan Hughes sprints to a 6.19 to grab the NCHSAA 4A Indoor State Championship title on Saturday
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Later, Antwan Hughes Jr. of Parkland Magnet IB (NC) had the JDL Fast Track stadium on their feet as he produced the nation's fastest time at 55m.
Going into the state championships, he had a U.S. No. 3 best of 6.29. But on Saturday, he improved it by a tenth of a second in 6.19, earning a new state meet record. The effort also gave him the No. 9 all-time best performance.
Also around Class 4A:
Justine Preisano, Stella Kermes and Charlotte Bell of Cuthbertson (NC) clocked three of the nation's fastest times of the weekend in the 1K. As the juniors went 1-2-3 in this event, the trio clocked 2:54.73, 2:55.65 and 2:55.67 respectively.
Also in the distance, Mary Bonner Dalton defended her state title in the 3,200m with a 10:26.49.
Jordan Polk of Jordan (NC) ran a U.S. top 10 performance in the 500m with a 1:04.25. The senior showed a two-second improvement in this event from last year's state championship and finished fourth overall.
Meanwhile, Junior Payton-Kimble of Northeastern (NC) threw a shot put best of 55-9 to win the 1A/2A state title; it was also a state best effort. His performance also equals the 17th-best throw in North Carolina high school history.
In the girls jumps, Jahaila Wright of Olympic (NC) leapt a state best of 18-6.75 in the long jump and Zoie Shuler of Robbinsville (NC) marked 39-9.5 in the triple jump to win the 1A/2A state title.
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